


Beg, Borrow, and Steal

by alessandralee



Category: Stitchers (TV)
Genre: F/M, Sharing Clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-04-18 08:36:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4699388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alessandralee/pseuds/alessandralee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While picking up some clothes for Cameron to wear home from the hospital, Kirsten helps herself to one of his shirts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beg, Borrow, and Steal

Kirsten liked spending time at Cameron’s apartment, but now it feels really weird being in it without him. Knowing that he’s not there because he’s lying in a hospital bed, after spending nearly a month in a coma, makes it that much worse.

She has to remind herself that she’s there for a good reason: Cameron’s finally been cleared to go home. Now she just needs to pick up some of his clothes so her doesn’t have to leave in one of those ugly hospital gowns.

It’s bright enough out that she doesn’t have to turn on any lights as she walks through the apartment. The kitchen looks even cleaner than it usually is, probably because Maggie had the forethought to have the whole thing cleaned out. Now Cameron won’t have to come home to find anything rotting in his fridge.

Only it turns out that whomever Maggie hired wasn’t as thorough as Kirsten assumed. One accidental hip check against the kitchen counter, and a half empty pot of coffee spills over her white blouse. It probably reached room temperature a long time ago, but that’s not what worries Kirsten.

She races to the bathroom, and manages to rinse enough of it off that it should be fine after a wash. She’ll just have to deal with the stain and the lingering scent of stale coffee for the rest of the day.

After she cleans up the mess she made, Kirsten heads for Cameron’s bedroom. The bed is perfectly made, and a basket full of sheets and towels sits on the floor. The sheets are, unsurprisingly, full of wrinkles. 

This feels like trespassing. Kirsten has to force herself to flick on the bedroom light. She doesn’t want to think about how Cameron thought he’d be coming home to this exact scene over a month ago.

And instead nearly died. Or did die. Kirsten’s successfully avoided thinking about the details since the night it happened.

She makes a beeline for Cameron’s dresser and pulls out one of five nearly identical pairs of jeans. That she folds and throws as sticks into the tote she brought with her. Then she grabs the first pairs of socks and underwear that she spots in his top drawer, not wanting to dwell on those. His brown shoes are already in the bag; they’d been waiting next to the door when she entered. The only other thing she needs is a shirt.

With the exception of a few long-sleeved thermal henleys, Cameron’s drawers are mostly gilled with plaid flannels. It’s quite the collection.

There are a lot of blue and red ones, so Kirsten figures one of those is a safe choice. She chooses one and rolls it up carefully to keep it from wrinkling.

Technically, Cameron’s supposed to go straight home after he leaves the hospital, but Kirsten doesn’t doubt for a second that he’ll talk Maggie into letting him go to work.

She’s actually kind of surprised that he didn’t talk himself out of the hospital days ago.

Kirsten’s about the close the dresser drawer when a wet patch of fabric on her shirt rubs uncomfortably against her skin. She looks down at her shirt. Cameron might be find to go into the office now, but she looks like a slob.

Impulsively, she grabs another flannel shirt from the drawer. This one is green and blue. It takes her a couple of minutes to locate a plastic bag in Cameron’s kitchen cabinets, but then she unbuttons her white shirt and swaps it from Cameron’s green.

It’s a little loose on her, especially in the arms, but Kirsten’s not really concerned about that. She struggles sometimes to find shirts that are long enough for her torso, but since Cameron’s even taller than she is, it’s not a problem. It’s also nothing like her usual choice of outfit, but it will do for a few hours.

The stained mess she sticks in the plastic bag, and that she squeezes into her own purse. Then she grabs Cameron’s change of clothes, checks her watch, and rushes off to the bus stop, careful to lock the door behind her.

\--

“Nice shirt,” Camille greets her when she arrives at the hospital. “Did you get one for all of us, or are you and Cameron going to be twins?”

Kirsten rolls her eyes, “I spilled coffee on myself.” She holds up the bag with her stained shirt as proof.

Linus emerges from Cameron’s room to ask, “Is Maggie here yet? He’s trying to sweet talk the nurse into saying he can work today. It’s not going well.”

“She’s filling out paperwork,” Camille answers. “Kirsten do you want to give Cameron his clothes so we can get this show on the road.”

Kirsten nods and heads for Cameron’s room. She doesn’t notice that Camille grabs Linus’s arm to keep him from following her.

It’s the same blindingly white hospital room she’s visited him in before, only now there’s a tiny woman with a thick Italian accent reminding Cameron to take it easy. When she spots Kirsten, she points accusingly at Cameron and says, “No work.”

Kirsten nods, “Got it,” and hands Cameron the bag of clothes.

Cameron’s movements are stiff as he climbs out of the hospital bed, accepts the offered clothing, and goes to the en-suite bathroom to change.

Before she leaves, the nurse tells Kirsten, “If he falls, come get me.”

He doesn’t, though, and a few minutes later the bathroom door handle squeaks as he lets himself out. His face is a little more gaunt than Kirsten remembers it being, but aside from that he almost looks like his old self.

“Is that mine?” he asks, pointing at the shirt Kirsten’s wearing.

“I had a run in with a coffee pot,” she explains.

“In my apartment?”

She nods, but makes sure to let him know that his kitchen has been completely cleaned out.

He nods along absently, eyes fixated on her shirt. Kirsten’s cheeks flush a little. He must be sensitive about people borrowing his things without asking. That certainly sounds like the kind of thing that would get Cameron worked up.

“I’ll wash it and get it back to you as soon as I can,” Kirsten promises.

Cameron shakes his head like he’s trying to clear his thoughts.

“No, it’s fine,” he says. “I have more than enough.”

“I noticed,” she responds.

“I went through a phase where I thought it was easier to buy more shirts than it is to do laundry,” he admits, “so now I have enough shirts to clothe a small army. I’m thinking about trying that, actually. I just need the army. But either way, you can keep it or return it and I’ll be fine. But you know what I do need?”

“What?” Kirsten asks. She’s 99% sure she picked up everything he said he wanted.

“Someone to convince Maggie I’m doing well enough to come to the lab.”


End file.
